2007 Football League Cup Final - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2007 Carling Cup Final was played on Sunday, 25 February 2007 at the Millennium Stadium

Millennium Stadium

The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...

, Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

. It was contested between Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

and Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, making it the first all-London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

final in the competition's history; the two sides had previously met in Cardiff

Cardiff

for the 2002 FA Cup Final. The game ended 2–1, with Chelsea winning. Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott

Theo James Walcott is an English footballer of Jamaican descent who plays for Arsenal and the England national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton F.C. Academy. He is a striker who is usually deployed on the right wing as a wide forward to exploit his speed...

scored the opening goal, his first for Arsenal, while Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba

Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

scored both of Chelsea's goals to seal his side's victory. Drogba

Didier Drogba

's goals were his 27th and 28th of that season, a record for him in English football.

Pre-match

Due to train delays caused by a "major signal failure", about 2,000 fans were late for the kick off of the match. This led to many fans asking for the game to be delayed. Network Rail

Network Rail

Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

later apologised for the delay.

Match incidents

A record seven minutes of stoppage time were added to the match due to the injury suffered by Chelsea captain John Terry

John Terry

John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

when he was kicked in the face by Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby

Abou Diaby

Vassiriki Abou Diaby , commonly known as Abou Diaby, is a French footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the France national team...

in the second half. Terry attempted a diving header and Diaby, in an attempt to clear, ended up kicking Terry and knocking him out. Terry was immediately stretchered off and taken to the hospital, but later discharged himself and returned to the stadium to celebrate with his teammates. Stoppage time was extended by an extra five minutes following a fracas that resulted in Arsenal captain Kolo Touré

Kolo Touré

Kolo Habib Touré is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Manchester City and Ivory Coast. Touré is a central defender. He is the elder brother of Manchester City team-mate Yaya Touré and Makasa's Ibrahim Touré.-Arsenal:...

and striker Emmanuel Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel being sent off for violent conduct and Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard

Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

and Cesc Fàbregas

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

shown yellow cards for unsporting behaviour. The full-time whistle eventually blew in the 103rd minute of play.

After the initial bookings of Touré and Mikel, referee Howard Webb

Howard Webb

Howard Melton Webb, MBE, is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2005....

consulted with an assistant referee, and Adebayor was sent off, allegedly over striking Wayne Bridge

Wayne Bridge

Wayne Michael Bridge is an English footballer who plays as a left back for Manchester City.A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, he has also played for Chelsea and Fulham during his Premiership career....

. Adebayor was irate and had to be calmed down as he was escorted off the field by fellow striker Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...

, who was not chosen for the match because he had not participated in the Carling Cup run. After the game, Bridge told reporters that he had been punched by Emmanuel Eboué

Emmanuel Eboué

Emmanuel Eboué is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and Ivory Coast. His natural position is at right back, but he is also used in various other positions. Eboué also holds a Belgian passport.-Early career:...

— not Adebayor, whom he suspected to be a victim of mistaken identity. The next day Arsenal and Chelsea submitted claims for wrongful dismissal of Adebayor and Mikel, respectively, to the FA

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

. The FA denied both appeals, also stating that Adebayor's claim "was not a claim for mistaken identity." The FA statement charged Arsenal and Chelsea misconduct concerning their inability to control their players. As a result Eboué was charged with violent conduct for striking Bridge; Adebayor was charged for his behaviour after being sent off. The recipients of these charges may have their case heard by a Disciplinary Commission.

Terry

John Terry

John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

's injury and Touré

Kolo Touré

's sending off meant that neither side's captain finished the game. After each player had left the field the captains' armbands were given to Lampard and Fàbregas respectively.

It was the last League Cup final to be played in Cardiff, before the opening of the new Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

(the final's traditional venue). It was also the only League Cup Final to be played at the Millennium Stadium with the roof open.

The match was also interrupted by incidents of Chelsea fans throwing celery in the direction Arsenal players. Thowing celery on the pitch is a club tradition among Chelsea supporters. The violence and sendings off on the pitch led to some media outlets dubbing the match as the "Snarling Cup Final".

Match details


style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">	CHELSEA:
GK	1	Petr Čech Petr Cech Petr Čech is a Czech footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals...
RB	19	Lassana Diarra Lassana Diarra Lassana "Lass" Diarra is a French footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid. His predominant position is defensive midfielder but he can also play in a more advanced role and has played at right back, which he occasionally did for former clubs Chelsea, as well as France.-Early career:Diarra...
CB	26	John Terry John Terry John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League... (c)
CB	6	Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho OIH , is a footballer who plays as a centre back for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid.Carvalho was born in Amarante where he played for the local team, Amarante Futebol Clube. By his great performance as a youngster, he was spotted by the Portuguese powerhouse,...
LB	18	Wayne Bridge Wayne Bridge Wayne Michael Bridge is an English footballer who plays as a left back for Manchester City.A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, he has also played for Chelsea and Fulham during his Premiership career....
DM	4	Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Claude Makélelé Sinda is a retired football player who used to play as a defensive midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. Prior to joining Paris Saint-Germain, Makélélé played for Nantes, Olympique de Marseille, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid and Chelsea...
CM	8	Frank Lampard Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
CM	13	Michael Ballack Michael Ballack Michael Ballack is a German professional footballer, who is currently playing for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of his international team. Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for except for Kaiserslautern...
CM	5	Michael Essien Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Ghanaian national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play...
CF	7	Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 67 goals as of 2011-03-10, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Raúl. With 175 goals scored with A.C...
CF	11	Didier Drogba Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...
Substitutes:
GK	40	Henrique Hilário Henrique Hilário Henrique Hilário Meireles Alves Sampaio , known as Hilário, is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League as a goalkeeper.-Portugal:...
DF	3	Ashley Cole Ashley Cole Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
MF	12	Mikel John Obi Mikel John Obi John Michael Nchekwube Obinna , commonly known as Mikel John Obi, John Obi Mikel or John Mikel Obi, is a Nigerian footballer, who plays as a midfielder for English club Chelsea and the Nigeria national team.-Club career:...
MF	16	Arjen Robben Arjen Robben Arjen Robben is a Dutch footballer who plays for the German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Though often classified as a forward, he usually plays behind the forwards as a winger, and he is also known for his dribbling skills...
FW	21	Salomon Kalou Salomon Kalou Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...
Manager:
José Mourinho José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....

style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"> ARSENAL: | GK 24

Manuel Almunia

Manuel Almunia Rivero is a professional footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper for Arsenal.-Early career:Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Almunia started his senior career with Osasuna's reserve team in 1997, playing two seasons with the team in Segunda División B...

RB 31

Justin Hoyte

Justin Raymond Hoyte is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. His younger brother, Gavin Hoyte, plays for Arsenal in the reserve team. His mother is the British sprinter, Wendy Hoyte.-Arsenal:...

CB 5

Kolo Touré

Philippe Senderos

Philippe Sylvain Senderos - is a Swiss footballer who plays as a defender for Fulham and the Switzerland national football team. Previously he has played for Servette, Arsenal, A.C...

LB 45

Armand Traoré

Armand Mohamed Traoré is a French-born Senegalese footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a left back. Traoré is a product of the famous Arsenal Academy, he has also represented France at under-19 and under-21 levels, but has since opted to represent his parents' native country, Senegal,...

RM 32

Theo Walcott

CM 4

Cesc Fàbregas

CM 15

Denílson

Denílson Pereira Neves

Denílson Pereira Neves is a Brazilian footballer who plays for São Paulo as a midfielder, on loan from Arsenal. He is the former captain of the Brazil national under-17 team.-Early life:...

LM 2

Abou Diaby

Vassiriki Abou Diaby , commonly known as Abou Diaby, is a French footballer who plays for English club Arsenal in the Premier League and the France national team...

CF 30

Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury...

CF 9

Júlio Baptista

Júlio César Baptista is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for Málaga CF of the Spanish La Liga...

Substitutes: GK 21

Mart Poom

Mart Poom is an Estonian former football goalkeeper. He retired after Estonia's 0–0 draw against Portugal on 10 June 2009 to focus on his job as goalkeeping coach at Arsenal and the Estonian national team, as well as other more "personal" projects....

DF 20

Johan Djourou

Johan Danon Djourou-Gbadjere , more commonly known as Johan Djourou, is an Ivorian-born Swiss international footballer who plays for Arsenal. He used to play as a defensive midfielder in his youth for former club Etoile Carouge, but on his arrival at Arsenal was converted to a central defender...

DF 27

Emmanuel Eboué

MF 13

Alexander Hleb FW 25

Emmanuel Adebayor

Manager:

Arsène Wenger

Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...

MATCH RULES

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Penalty shootout if scores still level.
Five named substitutes
Maximum of 3 substitutions.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba
Didier Yves Drogba Tébily is an Ivorian footballer who plays in the centre forward position. He currently plays for Chelsea in the Premier League, where he is deputy vice-captain, and is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team...

(Chelsea)

Chelsea

EWLINE

Round 3	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....	0–2	Chelsea
Round 4	Chelsea	4–0	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
Quarter-final	Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...	0–1	Chelsea
Semi-final (1st leg)	Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers F.C. Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...	1–1	Chelsea
Semi-final (2nd leg)	Chelsea	4–0	Wycombe Wanderers
	(Chelsea won 5–1 on aggregate)

Arsenal

EWLINE

Round 3	West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...	0–2	Arsenal
Round 4	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	0–1	Arsenal
Quarter-final	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	3–6	Arsenal
Semi-final (1st leg)	Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	2–2	Arsenal
Semi-final (2nd leg)	Arsenal	3–1	Tottenham Hotspur (A.E.T.)
	(Arsenal won 5–3 on aggregate)

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